Written Answers

Wednesday 22 March 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of agri-environmental funding under the Countryside Premium Scheme in future years and why no applications from Dumfries and Galloway were accepted in the last year.

Ross Finnie: The Countryside Premium Scheme is a national scheme designed to deliver conservation benefits in the wider countryside. The arrangements for ranking applications ensure that the resources available are directed to those applications likely to deliver the greatest conservation benefit. In fact, ten applications were accepted in the Dumfries and Galloway area in 1999.

Agriculture

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a successor to the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme using available transitional funds and how many applications are likely to be met under such a scheme.

Ross Finnie: Good progress is being made in negotiating, with the European Commission, proposals for a new Highlands and Islands Rural Development Plan drawn up by a partnership which includes the Rural Affairs Department, key public sector agencies, and representatives from the farming, crofting and landowning organisations in the Highlands and Islands. Further work is required on detailed scheme design, literature, domestic legislation and state aids clearance. It is hoped to open the new scheme for applications by the end of August.

  The number of applications met under the new plan will depend on a range of things, including the value of individual applications.

Agriculture

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme applications were successful in the recent allocation.

Ross Finnie: The Department issued 543 grant approvals, for individual measures, in the last three months of the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme (ABIS) prior to its closure on 31 December 1999. These approvals brought the total number of approvals since 1995 to 5,337. All grant available under the scheme was committed by 31 December 1999.

Agriculture

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reduce the amount of bureaucracy experienced by farmers.

Ross Finnie: Yes. The Scottish Executive commissioned and has now received a report from a panel of industry representatives on the red tape involved in paying EU subsidies. This involved a detailed scrutiny of the EU Regulations and their implementation. The recommendations made by the panel are now being addressed.

Ambulance Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the cost of introducing a priority-based dispatch system for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive announced on 7 March that we are providing the Scottish Ambulance Service with £100,000 to help them investigate whether a priority-based system for answering 999 calls would provide a better and more responsive service for patients. We expect to see the findings of the service's investigations later this year, which will include the estimated costs and timescales, associated with introducing such a system.

Ambulance Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the timescale for the implementation of a priority-based dispatch system for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Susan Deacon: I refer Mr Matheson to my answer to his question S1W-5172.

Ambulance Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the response times of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive, along with health boards and NHS Trusts, work in partnership to ensure the delivery of a responsive, high quality ambulance service. A range of measures with the Scottish Ambulance Service have been or are being taken to improve the service given to patients including:

  - changes to crew shift patterns and working practices

  - new radio and communications and control system

  - investment in ambulances and ambulance station and frontline staff

  For the future, the Ambulance Service’s revenue allocation for 2000-01 provides new development funding, including an extra £500,000 to put 20 more frontline staff into Glasgow, £115,000 in further support of the improvements being made to the Air Ambulance Service, and £485,000 to enable the service to train an extra 75 paramedics in the coming year. This is in addition to the funding being provided to enable the service to investigate the case for introducing a priority-based dispatch system for emergency ambulances. Plans are also being progressed to provide new ambulance stations in Edinburgh.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3816 by Susan Deacon on 24 February 2000, why it is taking a different approach to that of the Republic of Ireland concerning end-product testing in scallops.

Susan Deacon: I refer you to the Official Report of the Members’ Business Debate on the Scottish scallop industry held on 10 February in which I addressed this question fully.

Birds

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals are in place to protect the future of nesting birds in the Western Isles from damage by mink.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage are currently involved with a number of other organisations in strategic trapping of mink in the Western Isles. In addition, the Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage have commissioned a field study to assess the distribution of mink in the Uists and research into the possible options for future mink management in the Western Isles. Consideration of these reports will determine any further action.

Crime

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is saved in law enforcement costs for every pound spent on neighbourhood watch and other community crime prevention schemes.

Angus MacKay: I refer you to my answers of 11 February and 13 March 2000 about Scottish Executive support for Neighbourhood Watch and other initiatives. Evaluations are undertaken to determine the effectiveness of all our major crime prevention initiatives. However, as with criminal justice, some benefits are indirect and may take several years to make a direct impact on law enforcement costs.

Disabled People

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the level of funding over the last five years provided to organisations specifically involved in tackling poverty among disabled people.

Iain Gray: An annual grant of £10,150 was awarded to the Disablement Income Group Scotland from 1995-96 until 1998-99. This funding ceased at the end of March 1999 because of the decision to establish a new disability information service, UPDATE. UPDATE will receive funding of £227,000 in 1999-2000, £238,000 in 2000-01 and £235,000 in 2001-02.

  People with disabilities will also benefit from a wide range of policy initiatives including our Social Justice programme addressing the multiple causes of poverty and social exclusion.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money for modern language teaching in primary schools, by local authority area, was (a) allocated for each of the years 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, (b) spent for each of these years and (c) will be allocated for 2000-01.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Support for teaching costs in local authorities forms part of the unhypothecated local government settlement and is not identified centrally. Additional funding is available to train primary teachers to teach modern foreign languages. The tables below show the funding allocated to local authorities following their nomination of teachers to undertake this training. Final allocations for 2000-01 are not yet decided.

  1997-98

  


Local 

  Authority 


Actual 

  Paid

  £000 




Aberdeen 

  City 

  

175 

  



Aberdeenshire 

  

215 

  



Angus 

  

115 

  



Argyll & 

  Bute 

  

95 

  



Clackmannanshire 

  

44 

  



Dumfries 

  and Galloway 

  

114 

  



Dundee City 

  

101* 

  



East Ayrshire 

  

57 

  



East Dunbartonshire 

  

55 

  



East Lothian 

  

81 

  



East Renfrewshire 

  

75 

  



Edinburgh, 

  City of 

  

150 

  



Falkirk 

  

86 

  



Fife 

  

242 

  



Glasgow, 

  City of 

  

311 

  



Highland 

  

307 

  



Inverclyde 

  

47 

  



Midlothian 

  

70 

  



Moray 

  

102 

  



North Ayrshire 

  

77 

  



North Lanarkshire 

  

172 

  



Orkney Islands 

  

45 

  



Perth and 

  Kinross 

  

181 

  



Renfrewshire 

  

62 

  



Scottish 

  Borders 

  

109 

  



Shetland 

  Islands 

  

81 

  



South Ayrshire 

  

74 

  



South Lanarkshire 

  

140 

  



Stirling 

  

80 

  



West Dunbartonshire 

  

58 

  



West Lothian 

  

70 

  



Western 

  Isles 

  

83 

  



  1998-99

  


Local Authority

  

Actual Paid
£000

  



Aberdeen City

  

153

  



Aberdeenshire

  

247

  



Angus

  

104

  



Argyll & Bute

  

97

  



Clackmannanshire

  

26

  



Dumfries and Galloway

  

99

  



Dundee City

  

92

  



East Ayrshire

  

57

  



East Dunbartonshire

  

110

  



East Lothian

  

89

  



East Renfrewshire

  

99

  



Edinburgh, City of

  

151

  



Falkirk

  

82

  



Fife

  

219

  



Glasgow, City of

  

27

  



Highland

  

293

  



Inverclyde

  

35

  



Midlothian

  

72

  



Moray

  

108

  



North Ayrshire

  

68

  



North Lanarkshire

  

81

  



Orkney Islands

  

53

  



Perth and Kinross

  

208

  



Renfrewshire

  

65

  



Scottish Borders

  

101

  



Shetland Islands

  

106

  



South Ayrshire

  

61

  



South Lanarkshire

  

149

  



Stirling

  

70

  



West Dunbartonshire

  

29

  



West Lothian

  

76

  



Western Isles

  

29

  



  1999-2000

  


Local Authority

  

Actual Paid
£000

  



Aberdeen City

  

98

  



Aberdeenshire

  

122

  



Angus

  

54

  



Argyll & Bute

  

51

  



Clackmannanshire

  

20

  



Dumfries and Galloway

  

0

  



Dundee City

  

88

  



East Ayrshire

  

34

  



East Dunbartonshire

  

49

  



East Lothian

  

37

  



East Renfrewshire

  

49

  



Edinburgh, City 

  of

  

115

  



Falkirk

  

34

  



Fife

  

68

  



Glasgow, City of

  

98

  



Highland

  

147

  



Inverclyde

  

15

  



Midlothian

  

39

  



Moray

  

49

  



North Ayrshire

  

29

  



North Lanarkshire

  

88

  



Orkney Islands

  

66

  



Perth and Kinross

  

83

  



Renfrewshire

  

32

  



Scottish Borders

  

44

  



Shetland Islands

  

29

  



South Ayrshire

  

19

  



South Lanarkshire

  

110

  



Stirling

  

29

  



West Dunbartonshire

  

10

  



West Lothian

  

34

  



Western Isles

  

18

Education

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what has been the number of advisers in local authority Education Departments for each year since the reorganisation of local government in 1996.

Mr Sam Galbraith: There is no common definition between local authorities of the term "adviser". Centrally held data does not disaggregate numbers of non-teaching staff in local authority education services.

Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what kind of specialist provision exists in each local authority area for the education and social development of children under the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with autism.

Mr Sam Galbraith: There is a wide spectrum of needs amongst children with autism and a range of educational provision is required to meet these needs. The majority of children with Asperger’s syndrome or high functioning autism will be in mainstream schools. Most others will be in special units attached to primary or secondary schools catering for a range of special educational needs, including autism. Smaller numbers will be in two specialist schools in Scotland – Daldorch House School and Struan House School.

Employment

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to tackle increases in male unemployment in the Falkirk area.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is very conscious of the particular problems of areas such as Falkirk and we shall seek to ensure, through investing in jobs and skills, fostering enterprise and encouraging the growth of new businesses that we create sustainable economic growth and employment opportunities for all members of the community.

Executive Accommodation

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the cost of the current refurbishment of St Andrews House will be met from the block grant allocated to Scotland by Her Majesty's Treasury.

Mr Jack McConnell: The project costs are being met from within the Scottish Executive’s total budget. The refurbishment project commenced in 1998-99 and is scheduled for completion in 2001-02. The total budget, agreed at the start of the project, is £20 million. No cost overrun is anticipated.

Farmers

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers have committed suicide in the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Ross Finnie: Information collected from Registrations of Death shows cause of death and occupation of the deceased. According to this information, the numbers of farmers committing suicide in the three years in question were:

  


1997

  

13

  



1998

  

15

  



1999

  

9

  



  The figures for 1999 are provisional, and may rise slightly if a death is subsequently found to have been a suicide.

General Practitioners

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average monthly cost is of providing (a) a full-time GP in a single handed practice; (b) a full-time GP in a practice with more than one GP; (c) a half-time GP; (d) an associate GP and (e) a locum GP for a single-handed practice.

Susan Deacon: This information is not collected centrally. GP Principals are self-employed contractors to the NHS. They receive payments to cover both their expenses in providing General Medical Services and a net income for doing so. This is reviewed annually by the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB). Associate and locum GPs contract with a GP Principal, who determines how much to pay.

Health

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all patients requiring orthotic equipment have equal access to shoes, callipers, splints, corsets and night braces regardless of their home health board area.

Susan Deacon: Access to the types of orthotic equipment mentioned is available to patients throughout the NHS in Scotland. However, decisions on what equipment best meets the clinical needs of a patient are a matter for the clinician in charge of their care.

  The NHS providers of mobility and rehabilitation technology services formed the Scottish Rehabilitation Technology Forum (SCOTRET) to facilitate the exchange of information and promote co-operation throughout the service in Scotland. SCOTRET is currently working to put in place measures to establish common standards.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why Lanarkshire Health Board failed to meet its guarantee under the Patients’ Charter of nine months wait for cataract removal in over 115 cases during 1999 and what additional resources will be made available to enable Lanarkshire Health Board to fulfil the Patients’ Charter guarantee in future.

Susan Deacon: The Patients’ Charter guarantee of nine months for cataract surgery was breached during 1999 following the discovery of a cluster of cases of the eye infection "endophthalmitis" at Stonehouse Hospital. Routine operations were suspended while investigations were carried out to identify common characteristics of all such cases and to examine infection control procedures. The service was resumed in September 1999.

  In 1998-99 Lanarkshire Health Board invested an additional £266,000 in improving local ophthalmological services and, consequently, adequate resources are in place to deal with the current backlog and to sustain compliance with Charter guarantees.

  A further ophthalmologist is due to take up post on 1 May and this, combined with the momentum created by the full restoration of cataract surgery, means that no patient should breach the Charter guarantee by the end of this year.

Homelessness

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the funding for the rough sleepers initiative in South Lanarkshire will fall from £661,919 in 2000-01 to £430,819 in 2001-02.

Jackie Baillie: Funding in 2000-01 includes a one-off capital grant of £314,000 for the provision of direct access accommodation in East Kilbride.

Homelessness

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the funding for the rough sleepers initiative in Argyll and Bute will fall from £274,880 in 2000-01 to £114,480 in 2001-02.

Jackie Baillie: Funding in 2000-01 includes a one-off capital grant of £160,400 for the provision of direct access and move on accommodation in Oban.

Homelessness

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the funding for the rough sleepers initiative in Renfrewshire will fall from £165,394 in 2000-01 to £103,181 in 2001-02.

Jackie Baillie: Funding in 2000-01 includes a one-off capital grant of £65,000 for the provision of crisis accommodation for clients with mental health problems.

Homelessness

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the funding for the rough sleepers initiative in Glasgow will fall from £682,251 in 2000-01 to zero in 2001-02.

Jackie Baillie: Funding for new RSI projects in Glasgow will be determined in the light of the conclusions of the Glasgow Strategy Review Team which is developing a comprehensive strategy for addressing rough sleeping in the city. I expect the review team to provide advice by Easter. In the meantime, current RSI projects in Glasgow have been allocated continuation funding until the end of June 2000, but no decisions have been taken for the period from July 2000 to 2001-02.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Justice will give a substantive reply to letters sent to him by Mr Ian McKie regarding his daughter Shirley McKie’s complaint against the Scottish Criminal Records Office and others.

Mr Jim Wallace: Replies to Mr McKie’s letters to me of 17 January and 18 February and the letters of 14 January and 18 February to Lord Hardie, about the case of his daughter Shirley McKie, have been held back pending decisions on the terms of reference for a review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary of the standards and quality of work within the Fingerprint Section of the Scottish Criminal Record Office. Now that the terms of reference have been agreed and announced, substantive replies will be sent today.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Justice will give a substantive reply to my letters about the actions of the Scottish Criminal Records Office and Strathclyde Police in the case of Shirley McKie.

Mr Jim Wallace: Replies to your letters to me of 20 January and 8 February and your letter of 20 January to Lord Hardie, about the case of Shirley McKie, have been held back pending decisions on the terms of reference for a review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary of the standards and quality of work within the Fingerprint Section of the Scottish Criminal Record Office. Now that the terms of reference have been agreed and announced substantive replies will be sent today.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the aims, remit and timetable will be of any inquiry to be conducted by HM Inspector of Constabulary into the actions of the Scottish Criminal Records Office in the case of Shirley McKie.

Mr Jim Wallace: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary will shortly commence an inspection of the acquisition, examination and presentation of fingerprint evidence, and will include a review of the training, skills and quality assurance aspects of the SCRO operation. The inspection will include a close examination of the Shirley McKie case as an example of the process as a whole. The work is expected to take about three months, and the Inspectorate will make recommendations on any matters on which it concludes there were shortcomings or scope for improvement. The report will be published.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any inquiry into the actions of the Scottish Criminal Records Office with regard to the Shirley McKie case by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary will take evidence from Ms McKie and her family; whether Ms McKie will have full access to its findings, and whether the report will be published.

Mr Jim Wallace: HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary has contacted the McKie family and he has been assured that they will give every assistance. A report of the inspection will be published in accordance with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s independent role and in the interests of public accountability.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any inquiry by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary into the complaints of Ms Shirley McKie will rely solely on evidence from the Scottish Criminal Records Office during examination of any fingerprint evidence or whether other independent fingerprint experts will be called, including those who gave evidence for Ms McKie at her trial.

Mr Jim Wallace: HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary plans to use expert assistance in the review of the Scottish Criminal Record Office Fingerprint Section, which will include the fingerprint evidence presented at the trial of Shirley McKie.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address the concerns about the Scottish Criminal Records Office expressed recently by the fingerprints experts of Lothian and Borders Police.

Mr Jim Wallace: HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC) will shortly commence an inspection of the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO). It will cover the acquisition, examination and presentation of fingerprint evidence and include a review of the training, skills and quality assurance aspects of the SCRO operation. The fingerprint experts of Lothian and Borders Police raised concerns about SCRO’s handling of the fingerprint evidence in the case of Shirley McKie. The McKie case will be closely examined as part of the inspection process and recommendations will be made on any matters where there were shortcomings or scope for improvement. HMCIC’s report will be published.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with Strathclyde Police, or any other organisation or individual, regarding compensation for loss of employment and personal damages and suitable pension arrangements for Shirley McKie following her unsuccessful prosecution.

Mr Jim Wallace: Decisions relating to Ms McKie’s employment by Strathclyde Police are matters for the Chief Constable and Strathclyde Joint Police Board. Ms McKie has appealed against the decision of the police authority not to grant her an injury award. Arrangements are being made to have the appeal determined by an independent medical referee.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions resting solely or mainly on fingerprint evidence have been secured in Scotland in the past five years and in how many of these cases the fingerprint evidence was verified by the four individuals from the Scottish Criminal Records Office who verified the fingerprint evidence in the Shirley McKie case.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on the nature of evidence leading to convictions is not kept centrally.

Lifelong Learning

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to legislate for the introduction of individual learning accounts in Scotland.

Henry McLeish: In the Partnership for Scotland agreement we made a commitment to promote lifelong learning through the introduction of individual learning accounts (ILAs), and we are committed to the development of a UK framework. The concept of ILAs was developed as a means of allowing people to take responsibility for, and invest in, their own lifelong learning. Accordingly we will now legislate this year to fulfil these commitments and a Learning Accounts (Scotland) Bill will be introduced shortly.

  This Bill will allow Scottish Ministers to prescribe regulations covering such issues as powers to pay incentives and discounts, as well as to define learning eligible for such incentives. We aim to have the necessary legislation in place in order to allow for the UK framework to be fully operational by autumn 2000.

Police

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage Scottish police forces to fine members of the public for riding bicycles on pavements.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has no plans to give Scottish police forces the power to issue fixed penalties to those who cycle on pavements. The police may continue to report such offences to the Procurator Fiscal.

Police

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the level of new funding provided to Scottish police forces for the purchase of stab-proof vests.

Mr Jim Wallace: Police forces’ budgets are set by their respective police authorities. It is for chief constables to decide how to allocate resources on operational equipment such as the provision of stab-proof vests.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4591 by Mr Jim Wallace on 6 March 2000, what the highest number of prisoners detained in each prison other than HMP Kilmarnock has been to date; what the total number of prisoners in each prison was on 24 February 2000, and what percentage of total capacity these figures represent in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: The numbers requested are in the table below.

  Scottish Prison Establishments (excluding Kilmarnock)

  


Establishments

  

Max. 

  Population covering 1 April 1996 to 2 March 2000

  

Max. 

  Population as a percentage of capacity at 25 February 2000

  

Total 

  Population as at 24 February 2000

  

Population 

  as at 24 February 2000 as a percentage of capacity at 25 February

  



Aberdeen

  

230

  

141%

  

148

  

91%

  



Barlinnie

  

1,340

  

142%

  

943

  

100%

  



Castle Huntly 

  

  

142

  

95%

  

136

  

91%

  



Cornton 

  Vale

  

225

  

104%

  

205

  

94%

  



Dumfries

  

164

  

109%

  

102

  

68%

  



Dungavel

  

145

  

107%

  

87

  

64%

  



Edinburgh

  

792

  

133%

  

697

  

117%

  



Friarton

  

90

  

100%

  

57

  

63%

  



Glenochil 

  Prison

  

471

  

95%

  

465

  

94%

  



Glenochil 

  YOI 

  

179

  

103%

  

104

  

60%

  



Greenock

  

313

  

130%

  

146

  

61%

  



Inverness

  

166

  

154%

  

128

  

119%

  



Longriggend

  

214

  

122%

  

146

  

83%

  



Low Moss

  

432

  

109%

  

285

  

72%

  



Noranside

  

140

  

104%

  

113

  

84%

  



Penninghame

  

97

  

102%

  

11

  

12%

  



Perth

  

523

  

120%

  

449

  

103%

  



Peterhead

  

300

  

102%

  

292

  

99%

  



Peterhead 

  Unit

  

10

  

100%

  

0

  

0%

  



Polmont

  

511

  

121%

  

448

  

106%

  



Shotts

  

472

  

102%

  

453

  

98%

  



Shotts NIC

  

55

  

102%

  

54

  

100%

  



Shotts Unit

  

10

  

83%

  

10

  

83%

  



Zeist

  

2

  

33%

  

2

  

33%

  



Total

  







5,481

  

92%

Sex Offenders

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has produced any guidelines on the rehabilitation of sex offenders and, if so, to whom they have been issued and whether a copy will be made available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Mr Jim Wallace: Local Authorities provide criminal justice social work services which are set firmly in the context of enhancing community safety and minimising the risk from offenders, including sex offenders. They work to National Objectives and Standards for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System in delivering these services.

  Additional guidance has been issued to local authority social work departments on the operation of the provisions in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which allow courts to impose extended sentences which provide additional post-release supervision for violent or sex offenders where necessary.

  The report by the Chief Inspector of Social Work, A Commitment to Protect, contained proposals for more effective practice in the monitoring and the supervision of sex offenders. The recommendations of the report are being taken forward by the Expert Panel on Sex Offending under the Chairmanship of Lady Cosgrove, and have informed the development of social work practice in dealing with sex offenders.

  The Scottish Executive Social Work Services Inspectorate recently undertook an inspection of the management of sex offender cases by local authorities, which will be published soon. This will contain recommendations about the management of sex offenders.

  Copies of the documents referred to will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Statistics

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next Scottish Household Survey will be undertaken, and when the results will be available.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Scottish Household Survey is a continuous survey which started in February 1999 and interviews are being conducted each month. Three quarterly Bulletins have been published to date and the next Bulletin will be published in May 2000. An Annual Report and accompanying Technical Report will be published in August 2000, giving key findings from the survey for larger local authorities and groupings of smaller local authorities. By August 2001, a sufficiently large sample will have been collected and analysed to provide results for all local authorities.

Student Finance

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to provide an up-to-date estimate of the costs of the Cubie Committee, including VAT, and to detail the main elements of this cost.

Henry McLeish: As at 14 March 2000, the latest estimate of the total costs including VAT incurred in the committee’s work is £472,111.73 (this excludes Secretariat costs). The following elements make up this total:

  


Research

  

94,264.67

  



Printing

  

175,291.91

  



Advertising

  

86,079.68

  



Public Relations

  

44,504.57

  



Accommodation

  

12,337.07

  



Members 

  Expenses

  

43,724.89

  



IT work/Website

  

2,937.50

  



Recruitment/Temps

  

3,466.69

  



Miscellaneous

  

9,504.75

  



Total

  

£472,111.73

Telecommunications

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2113 by Sarah Boyack on 23 February 2000, what is the timescale within which it intends to bring forward amendments to planning legislation regarding telecommunications masts.

Sarah Boyack: I intend to await the outcome of the Transport and the Environment Committee’s inquiry into telecommunications before bringing forward amendments to planning legislation.

Telecommunications

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposed amendments to planning legislation regarding telecommunications masts will be by primary legislation or by statutory instrument.

Sarah Boyack: Amendments to planning legislation relating to telecommunications development would generally be made by statutory instrument.

Telecommunications

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposed amendments to planning legislation on telecommunications masts will require operators to submit full applications for mobile phone masts.

Sarah Boyack: No. The proposals I announced in the chamber on 27 October 1999 do not entail removing existing permitted development rights, but include a procedure whereby developers will be required to obtain the prior approval of the planning authority before exercising these rights.

Telecommunications

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposed amendments to planning legislation on telecommunications masts will allow local authorities to ban their erection in specific locations.

Sarah Boyack: No. The planning system exists to secure the efficient and effective development and use of land in the public interest. Refusal of planning permission or the imposition of conditions on planning permissions can be used to safeguard amenity and the environment. As far as masts are concerned, the present proposals for change will add refusal of prior approval regarding siting and design of permitted development to this list. However, these can all be appealed against and so cannot be interpreted as mechanisms for banning development.

  Planning legislation does not allow local authorities to ban development.

Transport

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3820 by Sarah Boyack on 16 February 2000, which local authorities are currently implementing pilot projects evaluating the effectiveness of the 20mph pilot projects.

Sarah Boyack: The local authorities listed below have implemented pilot 20mph schemes. These are being evaluated by the Scottish Executive.

  


Aberdeen 

  City Council

  



Aberdeenshire 

  Council

  



Argyll & 

  Bute Council

  



Clackmannanshire 

  Council

  



Dundee City 

  Council

  



Dumfries 

  and Galloway Council

  



East Ayrshire 

  Council

  



City of 

  Edinburgh Council

  



East Dunbartonshire 

  Council

  



East Renfrewshire 

  Council

  



Fife Council

  



Falkirk 

  Council

  



Glasgow 

  City Council

  



Highland 

  Council

  



Inverclyde 

  Council

  



Midlothian 

  Council

  



Moray Council

  



North Ayrshire 

  Council

  



North Lanarkshire 

  Council

  



Perth and 

  Kinross Council

  



Renfrewshire 

  Council

  



South Ayrshire 

  Council

  



Scottish 

  Borders Council

  



Shetland 

  Islands Council

  



South Lanarkshire 

  Council

  



Stirling 

  Council

  



West Dunbartonshire 

  Council

  



West Lothian 

  Council

Transport

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the Strategic Rail Authority to include in the franchise for the East Coast Rail Line a requirement for electrification from Edinburgh to Aberdeen during the lifetime of the franchise.

Sarah Boyack: I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-3618.

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it carries out any national monitoring of implementation of reduced speed limits and traffic calming measures, broken down by local authority and, if so, whether it will publish the results.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive does not carry out as a matter of routine national monitoring of reduced speed limits and traffic calming measures implemented by local authorities.

  The Scottish Executive is evaluating the effectiveness of the 20mph pilot projects implemented in a number of local authority areas throughout Scotland in 1998. A list of the authorities that have implemented 20mph pilot projects was given in my reply to question S1W-4975. The pilot projects are testing the effectiveness of 20mph schemes which do not include the use of relatively expensive engineering measures to force down the speed of traffic. The results will be available in September and the report will be published as soon as possible thereafter. It will be distributed to all local authorities in Scotland and other interested parties and copies will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.